As US President Barack Obama announced the lifting of the decades-long
embargo on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam, he seemed at pains to explain
the decision "was not based on China or any other considerations".

Vietnam is in talks with European and US contractors to buy fighter jets,
maritime patrol planes and unarmed drones, sources said, as it looks to beef up
its aerial defenses in the face of China's growing assertiveness in disputed
waters.

WASHINGTON — Vietnam wants the U.S. to lift fully an embargo on arms sales
that was eased last year, but Washington is calling for more progress by the
communist-governed nation on improving human rights, their respective
ambassadors said Tuesday.

More than 100,000 Vietnamese have been killed or injured by land mines or
other abandoned explosives since the Vietnam War ended nearly 40 years ago, and
clearing all of the country will take decades more, officials said Monday.

HANOI — Vietnam's major arms deal with Russia, reported to involve the
purchase of six submarines, aims to bolster claims against China over
potentially resource-rich islands in the South China Sea, analysts say.